TomoTherapy Helps to Develop Compact Proton Therapy System

April 29, 2008 - TomoTherapy Inc. is participating in the Compact Particle Acceleration Corporation (CPAC) to develop a state-of-the-art, compact proton therapy system for the treatment of cancer, featuring a dielectric-wall accelerator (DWA).

The DWA technology, which resulted from defense-related research at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), reportedly has the potential to bring fixed and rotational intensity-modulated proton therapy (IMPT) to treat cancer into the medical mainstream. It is distinct from current particle accelerator technology in that energies of 200 MeV are expected to be achieved within a relatively compact structure that fits in a standard therapy treatment room as compared to other technologies that require significantly more space and weight-bearing capacity (up to several hundred tons).

TomoTherapy will contribute intellectual property to CPAC in exchange for its interest in the company. It will co-develop the compact proton therapy system with CPAC and has the option to acquire the medical applications of the DWA from CPAC in the future. CPAC will also continue to collaborate with LLNL to optimize the DWA for particle therapy and other applications. CPAC will also work with other commercial partners to develop the DWA for non-medical applications.

CPAC conducted the initial closing of phase I of the investment, and anticipates completing phase I with one or more additional closings over the next several months. Investors in CPAC will include TomoTherapy, private investors and potential customers. A total investment of approximately $45 million is anticipated to be completed in three phases, which are linked to key technological milestones.

A model of the new, compact, single-room Varian ProBeam 360 system. The system is an example of the trend in proton therapy toward single-room, smaller systems and away from multi-room treatment centers.